Telegram continues to make concessions in order to comply with various rules imposed by regulators. After being pressured to provide customers’ phone numbers and IP addresses to authorities, Telegram announced this week that it will allow businesses to verify the phone numbers of their customers.
The latest update also introduces the ability to send gifts for Telegram Stars, as well as a brand-new redesigned video chat UI on iOS. In addition, Telegram is adding support for livestreaming with RTMP on Android and an improved reporting interface.
Going back to the new verification platform launched by Telegram, the company announced that starting this week, any business, app or website can send verification codes via Telegram and pay for them on Fragment.
According to the messaging app, these verification codes are faster, cheaper, more secure and convenient than SMS or other alternatives. If you’re using Telegram and interact with a business, you might receive a message with a code in a special chat inside the app.
Besides the verification platform for businesses, Telegram is adding the ability for users to send each other gifts for Telegram Stars. Once you receive a gift, you can immediately display it on the new Gifts tab of your profile. You can even discard the gift and get some of its Stars to spend elsewhere, including on more gifts.
If you want to send a gift to someone, simply open the user’s profile and tap Send a Gift. You can also add any message or emoji to the gift before sending it. Even though you can choose to hide your name, the recipient will still know who sent it, but no one else will be able to see your name if the gift is displayed on their profile.
Moving on to the new video chat UI, Telegram confirmed it has redesigned video chats on iOS to increase performance and improve battery life. According to Telegram, longer calls will not overheat your iPhone anymore, even with multiple video feeds from dozens of participants.
